Railroad-track gage.



y PATENTED DEC. 18 0. RBNSTROM. ,RAILROIADTRAOK GAGE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 17.1908.

IIIIIII" INVENTOR 0B6 iwtram WITNESSES:

I Allohzgy UNITED STATEMENT oFnion-g OSCAR RENSTROM, OF SHELL LAKE, WISCONSIN. ASSIG NOR OF ONE-HALF 'IO'BARNEY HANSON, OF SHELL LAKE, WISCONSIN.

RAILROAD-TRACK GAGE.

Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Dec. 18, 1906.

To all; whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OSCAR .RENsrRoM, a citizen of the United States, residing at Shell Lake, in the county of Washburn and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railroad-Track Gages, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to railway-track gages, the primary object of the invention be- [0 ing to provide a track-gage which will be of material assistance to the spiker or the man who drives the spikes, enabling him to properly gage the rails preparatory to driving the spikes and to hold the rails as the spikes are being driven. By means of the improved railwayage hereinafter more particularly described the spiker can perform his work without the aid of an assistant, the aid of such an assistant being required by the gages now in common use,-such assistant having to hold the gage or the rail, or both, while thespiker fastens the rail so gaged and held.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide means whereby the age is adapted to rails of different weights Wltll the incident. increase or decrease In thickness of the railheads due to the difference in weight.

Afurther object of the invention is to pro vide other means for changing the reach of 0 the gage to adapt it to the necessary variation in the distance between the rails inconstructing or repairing curves or constructing or making repairs at curves in the road-bed.

A further object of the invention is to pro- 3 5 vide a gage of such construction that it will be a non-conductor of electricity between the rails, so as to avoid danger to the workmen and also avoid any interference with the switches or signals associated with a railway.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement'of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated,

and claimed.

In the accompanyin drawings, Figure 1 is a -cross-sectional view 0 a sufficient portion of a railway to illustrate the application thereto of the improved track-gage, the latter being shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section through the track-gage, showing the relation thereof to the rails. Fig. 3 is a cross-section through the gage, taken in line with the set-screw and ooking inward from the end of the gage.

{ing the main body of the imay be provided with a suitable lifting and carrying handle 2, if desired.

and its connections. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of one of the auxiliary gages. Fig. 6 is a detail vertical section through one 5 end of the .gage, showing the manner of applying[ the auxiliary gage.

n carrying out the present invention I employ a bar 1, of wood or other material having no electrical conductivity, said bar constitutgage. This bar Fig.4 is a plan view of one end of the age, SllOWlIlg the cam-shaped rail-crowding ever At one end the bar is provided with a metal end piece in the form of a sleeve 3, which fits over said end of the bar and is riveted or otherwise permanently secured thereto, as shown at 4. The extremity of the sleeve 3' is reduced and provided with a socket 5 and also one or more set-screws 6, which enter said socket from the top; The socket 5 extends lengthwise of the gage bar and receives the shank 7 of a gage-arm 8, which is adjustable inward and outward by adjusting the shank 7, said shank being held within the socket 5 by means of the set screws 6, the inner ends of which bind against said shank, as shown in Fig. 2.

By preference the contacting surfaces of the shank 7 and inner wall of the socket 5 are serrated, toothed, or roughened, asshown at 9, to insure against any slipping-of said shank and the consequent movement of the adjustable gage-arm 8. Theinner surface of the gage arm 8 is also preferably toothed or roughened, as shown at 10, so as to obtain a grasp upon the outer surface of the rail-head and to better adapt the implement as a whole for use in connection with old or partially-worn rails. At the same end of the gage-bar there is provided a fixed gage-arm 11, which extends downward and is preferably extended laterally to form two portions or branches 12,

which bear against the inner surface of the rail-head, and ,other arms or branches 13,

, which rest upon the head of the rail to assist in holding the gage-bar as a whole in place on the rails. gage-arm 8 is adjustable horizontally relatively to the fixed gage-arms 12, so as to accommodate rails of different sizes, weights, '&c. At the opposite end the gage 1 is provided with parallel cheek plates or extensions 14, having downwardly-extending gage-lugs It will thus be seen that the 15, which form shoulders in transverse alinement with each other adapted to bear against the inner surface of the head of the rail at that side of the track, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These lugs 15 may be connected by a cross-piece or web, as shown, to make a broad fiat bearing-face. Between the plates at a point beyond the lugs 15 is a rail-setting lever consisting of a cam-shaped rail-crowding head 16 and a lever proper, 17, extending outward therefrom, said lever carrying a latch '18, mounted to slide in suitable guides 19 on the lever and pressed inward by means of a latch-spring 20. The latch has connected thereto a rod or wire 21, extending outward and connecting with a small thumblatch lever 22, adjacent to the handle 23, at the outer end of the lever 17, the object being to allow the workmen to throw the latch 18 into and out of engagement with the teeth of a rack 24, fixedly connected to one of the side plates 14, as shown in Fig. 4. In this way the lever may be held at any adjustment.

The head 16 of the rail-setting lever is camshaped and adapted to bear against the outer side of the rail-head, as best shown in Fig. 2, and crowd said rail inward until the head thereof bears firmly against the shoulder formed by lugs 15.

25 represents the pin or bolt on which the lever is fulcrumed.

The head 16 is recessed, as shown at 26, to receive one end of an L,shaped grapple 27, which end is pivotally mounted at 28 in the recess 26. The grapple is of a shape adapting it to extend the inner side of the rail-head, where it is provided with a hook 29, adapted to en age beneath the head of the rail, so that as t e lever 17 is swung outward and downward the grapple engages the head of the rail and holds the gage-bar firmly down against the rail simultaneously with the crowding inward against the' shoulder formed by the lugs 15, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

In gaging the rails on curves it is necessary a to allow a little greater distance between the.

rails, and this is accomplished by means of a set of auxiliary gages or blocks 30 of different thicknesses running, for example, from oneeighth of an inch to one-half inch in thickness. Each of said auxiliary ga'ges or blocks is provided with a plurality of spring-arms 31, extending upward and provided with catch-lips 32, adapted to snap over and into engagement with the upper edges of the side plates 14.. The auxiliary gage 30 occupies a over and downward behind.

seaosa.

position between the shoulder formed by the lugs 15 and the adjacent inner surface of the rail-head, as clearly shown in Fig. 6. As previously stated, these auxiliary gages are of different thicknesses, so that the workmen may vary the distance between the rails by interchanging such gages as required.

I claim- 1. A track-gage comprisin means at one end for en agin a rail, and rail-engagin means at t e otl ier end embodying a fixed gage-arm, and an adjustable gage-arm movable toward and away from the fixed gagearm and having a shank adjustable in the socket in the gage-bar, the contacting surfaces of the shank and gage-bar being serrated, substantially as described.

2. A track-gage comprising means at one end for en aging a rail, and rail-engaging means at the opposite end consisting of a fixed rail-engaging shoulder, and a rail-setting lever arranged opposite said shoulder and provided with a head which operates in contact with the rail to crowd the rail-head inward against said shoulder.

3. A track-gage comprising a gagebar, rail-enga ing means at one end thereof, and other rai engaging means at the opposite end embodying a fixed shoulder, a rail-setting lever provided with a rail-crowding head which operates to force the head of the rail inward against said shoulder, and means for locking said lever and the crowding-head.

4. A track-gage comprising a gage-bar, rail-engaging means at one end thereof, and other rail-engaging means at the opposite end of said bar embodying a fixed rail-engaging shoulder, a rail-setting lever having a cam-shaped head which operates to crowd the head of the rail inward against said. shoulder, and a grapple connected to said lever.

5. A track-gage comprising a gage-bar, rail-enga ing means at one end thereof, and other rai -engaging means at the opposite end thereof, and a set of interchangeable auxiliary gages having means whereby they may be detachably clasped to the gage-bar, the said auxiliary gages being adapted to be interposed between one of the fixed rail-engaging shoulders and the rail.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OSCAR RENSTR OM.

Witnesses:

ANDREW RYAN, A. A. LANELL. 

